How to install AWS CLI on Ubuntu

Installing AWS CLI on Ubuntu adds the aws command to the shell for identity checks, profile-based work, and repeatable AWS service calls from local terminals, remote servers, and automation jobs.

Current AWS guidance for Ubuntu supports the vendor AWS CLI version 2 installer and the official snap package. The ZIP installer keeps the install consistent on standard Ubuntu shells without depending on snapd, and it avoids the release-specific lag or package absence that can still affect distro repositories.

AWS CLI version 1 and version 2 use the same aws command name. Older APT, snap, or pip installs can still shadow /usr/local/bin/aws after the new install, and ARM64 systems must use the Linux aarch64 archive instead of the x86_64 file shown in the default download step.

Steps to install AWS CLI on Ubuntu:

Refresh the local APT package lists.
```
$ sudo apt update
```
Install curl and unzip.
```
$ sudo apt install curl unzip
```
curl downloads the installer archive, and unzip extracts it before the bundled installer runs.
Check the Ubuntu CPU architecture.
```
$ uname -m
x86_64
```
x86_64 uses the default download URL below, while aarch64 uses the Linux ARM archive in the next step.
Download the current AWS CLI v2 archive.
```
$ curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/\
awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" \
  -o "awscliv2.zip"
```
If the previous step returned aarch64, replace x86_64 with aarch64 in the download URL.
Extract the installer archive in the current working directory.
```
$ unzip awscliv2.zip
```
Run the bundled installer with sudo.
```
$ sudo ./aws/install
You can now run: aws --version
```
The default install directory is /usr/local/aws-cli and the default symlink path is /usr/local/bin/aws. If those paths already contain a manual AWS CLI v2 install, rerun the installer later with sudo ./aws/install --update instead of creating a second copy.
Confirm that the shell resolves the new aws binary.
```
$ command -v aws
/usr/local/bin/aws
```
If the shell still resolves /usr/bin/aws, /snap/bin/aws, or ~/.local/bin/aws, the bundled install is not the active command yet.
Confirm that the active command reports AWS CLI v2.
```
$ aws --version
aws-cli/2.34.32
```
The exact version, bundled Python runtime, and platform string change over time. The decisive result is that the command returns an aws-cli/2.x version line. Related: How to check AWS CLI version
Query the active account after credentials are configured.
```
$ aws sts \
  get-caller-identity \
  --query Account \
  --output text
123456789012
```
Use aws configure, aws configure sso, or aws login before this step on a new host. Related: How to configure AWS CLI on Linux and macOS
Related: How to log in to AWS CLI with IAM Identity Center
Related: How to check the current caller identity in AWS CLI
Remove the downloaded installer files after the CLI is working.
```
$ rm -r aws awscliv2.zip
```
Removing these files does not uninstall AWS CLI from /usr/local/aws-cli.